Marketing

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores has filed suit against CVS Caremark Corp. to prevent CVS from hiring former Wal-Mart executive Hank Mullany, according to a Friday report by Bloomberg.

CVS’s hiring of Mullany, former president of Wal-Mart’s northern U.S. division, would violate a noncompete agreement, Wal-Mart said in the complaint filed Thursday in Delaware Chancery Court.

According to Wal-Mart’s complaint, CVS has indicated that it intends to hire Mullany without regard to the agreement.

New York City -- Robert K. Futterman & Associates said it has completed a 7,800-sq.-ft. retail lease with Nadeau at 57 East 11th St. in New York City’s Greenwich Village.

The furniture retailer will occupy a combined 4,300 sq. ft. on the ground floor and 3,500 sq. ft. in the basement and is scheduled to open in first quarter 2011. This will be the first New York City location for the brand.

Nadeau is headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., and currently has 15 locations nationwide.

Dallas -- SRS Real Estate Partners announced it has appointed Stan Heller as executive VP of its lease administration service line.

In his new role, Heller will focus on helping the lease restructure and renewal team in lowering client occupancy costs, as well as pursuing new business for the company. The addition of Heller comes on the heels of a strategic move to grow the company’s lease administrative presence in the industry.

Phoenix -- Grubb & Ellis Co. announced that Robert P. Stephens has joined the company as VP Industrial Group.

Specializing in the representation of industrial tenants and landlords, Stephens joined Grubb & Ellis from Cushman & Wakefield.

Apollo Beach, Fla. -- Tampa, Fla.-based RMC Property Management Group announced that Dollar Tree will open a new 9,500-sq.-ft. store at Summerfield Crossing Plaza, located in Apollo Beach, Fla.

The Dollar Tree Store will be constructed adjacent to a new 80,000-sq.-ft. Bealls department store.

Dollar Tree is slated to open April 2011.

New York City -- Hollister, the Southern California-themed brand from Abercrombie & Fitch, has opened its doors on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The 15,000-sq.-ft., two-level flagship boasts a double-height glass storefront that is covered with video screens showing a live feed of the surf back in Huntington Beach, Calif. It’s a striking effect that has passers-by lined up neck to neck.

The 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards program recognized retailers from across the nation. Several of the regional retail winners are profiled below.



Matt Rubel learned his craft at an early age. The 52-year-old chief of footwear giant Collective Brands Inc., parent to such brands as Payless ShoeSource, Stride Rite and Sperry Top-Sider, was introduced to retail by his parents.


“I worked in their stores growing up, starting at a very young age,” Rubel said. “I learned that I loved customers and their passion for shopping.”


Rubel has remained true to his early vocation. After graduating college in 1979, he started his career at the legendary Bonwit Teller in New York. From there, he went on to hold leadership positions at some of the nation’s most prominent retail brands. From 1999 to 2005, Rubel served as chairman, president and CEO of Cole Haan, a subsidiary of Nike, where he led a multi-year turnaround,